I don't even know what they're selling on this spot that uses one of the most annoying Christmas rockers of all time — but I do know that the moment the tune starts blaring is the moment I change the channel or hit the mute button.

Another spot that's been running all over the place for the last few weeks bugs me to an even greater degree, and I'm still sorting out the reasons why. Maybe because it sucks me in every time — makes me look up from whatever I'm doing — because the voice that leads off the ad is instantly recognizable and usually signifies that real news is taking place. Or maybe it's because the ad has the look and tone of a piece of government-endorsed, modern-day propaganda.

I'm speaking of the 30-second commercial sponsored by the Travel Industry Association of America, starring President George W. Bush as the ad hoc spokesman for the industry. The first image we see is a close-up of the president at a podium, addressing the nation: "Americans are asking, what is expected of us?"

His words are repeated by a woman in a maroon blazer, and men in chefs' uniforms: "What is expected of us?" "What is expected of us?" Next we see two young women at a carnival, telling us, "We ask you to live your lives." Bush can be heard faintly on the soundtrack, saying the same line.

The theme continues, with images of Bush giving his speech juxtaposed with warm and fuzzy scenes of airline pilots and flight attendants, cruise-line staffers, hotel employees, a car-rental agent and other travel-industry professionals repeating snippets of the president's pep talk.

There's some overlap in the dialogue, and the net effect is that everyone seems to be reciting some new Pledge of Allegiance. Here's what the Bush-led chorus tells us: "Fly, and enjoy America's great destination spots. Take your families and enjoy life, the way we want it to be enjoyed. Greatness is found when American character and American courage can overcome American challenges, and we will."

And then the generic rock-music soundtrack swells as we see quick-cut images of these people breaking into applause, followed by a graphic telling us the commercial has been brought to us by the Travel Industry Association of America, the nonprofit organization representing every facet of the country's travel industry.

There's something off-putting about the ad — something irritating about a gal in a car-rental parking lot, holding a walkie-talkie and telling me that "greatness is found when American character and American courage can overcome American challenges."

So if I lease a midsize compact, I'm rising to the challenge and demonstrating my patriotism? But what if I don't want to rent a car or go to a carnival or take a cruise? Does that mean I'm anti-American?

Look, I understand that the travel industry has been rocked by the aftereffect of the mass murders of Sept. 11.

The Travel Industry Association of America estimates that travel expenditures will decrease by nearly $34 billion this year, a drop of 7 percent from 2000, and that nearly a half-million jobs in the industry will be lost in the process.

Of course, it wouldn't be accurate to say that every dollar not spent and every job lost can be attributed to the events of Sept. 11, but there's no doubt that airlines, hotels, car-rental agencies, cruise lines and many other businesses have been socked hard in the last three months.

I don't wish unemployment on anybody, and, like any good citizen, I'm rooting for the economy to bounce back with a vengeance — but I'm growing weary of this constant marketing pressure to buy-buy-buy and spend-spend-spend as a way of fighting terrorism and demonstrating unwavering loyalty to the flag. There's something cynical about all these ads urging us to "get America rolling again" by purchasing a sport utility vehicle or taking a trip or buying new carpeting for the den.

As I've said before, I fully realize and appreciate my own good fortune, and I have indeed been traveling more than ever. Since Sept. 11, I've been to New York City twice, I've flown to several other locales and I've stayed at a number of hotels. The service has ranged from excellent to appalling. In other words, some things haven't changed in the last three months.

But I'm not spending money to get back at Osama bin Laden. I'm doing it because it suits my wants and needs. I can do without the president acting as a shill for the travel industry — and I'd be much more impressed if flight attendants, car-rental agents, cruise employees and the rest appeared in a commercial pledging to be more courteous, more professional and more efficient.

Richard Roeper writes for the Chicago Sun-Times

Copyright 2001 The Daily Camera.

###